Comcast Xfinity evil twin steals subscriptions

That's not the login page you're looking for

A senior security research engineer at LogRhythm Labs has demonstrated how to steal Comcast Xfinity subscriptions by masquerading as a wireless access point.

Greg Foss (@Heinzarelli) published code that could be deployed on a Wifi Pineapple to replicate one of Comcast's million customer-run hotspots across the US. Comcast offered cable TV, internet and voip under its Xfinity brand.

Customer devices would automatically connect to the evil hotspot as soon as it came within wireless range of the Xfinitywifi SSID.

"All you need to do is locate a nearby access point, log in using your Comcast credentials and start browsing the net through someone’s home router ... hackers can leverage this vulnerability feature for evil," Foss wrote on the LogRhythm blog.

He added that "... stealing Comcast credentials does have the added advantage of providing attackers with credentials they can later use to mask their online activity."

Victims would be prompted as normal to enter their Comcast details which could be nabbed landing attackers free cable subscriptions.

Ne'er-do-wells could go further by launching attacks to potentially sniff traffic or infect devices. Particularly heinous fraudsters could on-sell credentials if a malicious access point was setup in a high traffic area where lots of logins could be harvested.

Would-be-attackers don't need a $100 Wifi Pineapple to establish a malicious Xfinity hotspot: the free PwnSTAR script can also do the job.

Foss offers detailed instructions on launching the attacks and pointed out that while Comcast was in his crosshairs, other service providers offering customer hotspots could be similarly exploited.

Alternatively, as Foss pointed out, attackers may need only ask on social media to receive Comcast login details. ®